


Nobody's feelings are stupid, remember?

by HesitantlyHipsterAlien



Series: JATP Fluff and Angst [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV), Julie and The Phantoms (TV) RPF
Genre: Beetlejuice References, Bobby being a good bandmate, Gen, Mild Angst, Platonic Affection, Rated teen for swearing, SO MUCH FLUFF, bc lets be real, but its more like recovery from angst, just fluff, mild reference to hompphobia, netflix just cant let them bc its a 'kids' show, protective bandmates, theyre teenage boys theyre gonna swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27353251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HesitantlyHipsterAlien/pseuds/HesitantlyHipsterAlien
Summary: The aftermath of 'The Words of a Requiem, Twenty-five years Late'Or me apologizing for all the angst I wrote at one am by adding a platonic affection filled pile of fluff.
Relationships: Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: JATP Fluff and Angst [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1996753
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69





	Nobody's feelings are stupid, remember?

They all stopped crying at some point, Luke realizes. One arm is looped around Alex’s waist- his forehead still pressed against the drummer’s temple- the other is draped around Reggie’s shoulders, the bassist half in Alex’s lap, half on the floor.

There really isn’t enough room on this piano bench for three guys- ghosts or not.

“...hey...” Luke finally breaks the silence. Alex jumps a little, but only because it's been quiet for the last… however long it's been since their sobs all quieted. Reggie hums curiously, not moving his face from Alex’s chest.

“We should probably move off the piano bench. Julie won’t be happy if we break it,” Luke continues. Alex lifts his head up finally, disentangling himself from Luke to wipe his eyes.

“Yeah, this isn’t really the best place for a group hug,” Alex says. Reggie adds something, but, considering his refusal to unbury his face from Alex’s hoodie, it's little more than an unintelligible muffled sound of indignance. 

“What was that, Reg?”

Reggie huffs, not appreciating the requirement that he move, pulling back to look at his bandmates. “Location shouldn’t matter when it comes to hugs. Hugs are important!”

“Says the one who already fell off the bench,” Alex retorts, but it's nothing more than good natured teasing. Reggie pouts in response, eliciting a chuckle from Luke.

“Can we just move to the couch?” Luke finally asks. “My ass is falling asleep because we’re sitting weird. Which is weird in general because we’re made of air. I don’t know how my ass is asleep if it's just air.”

“The afterlife seriously needs an instruction manual,” Alex replies with a grin, gently nudging Reggie to stand. They move to the couch, shifting to their usual position of Luke in the middle and Alex and Reggie on either side. However, this time, Alex and Reggie sit facing each other, their legs tangled with Luke’s, hands entwined once more. For a moment, all is silent. Then…

“Beetlejuice!” Reggie blurts out. This time, it’s Luke’s turn to jump. Alex blinks.

“What?”

“I was trying to figure out where we’d heard of the afterlife having an instruction manual,” Reggie explains. “It was Beetlejuice! That horror movie that came out when we were like ten, remember? We spent half of it hiding behind Bobby’s couch and the other half laughing so hard we couldn’t breathe.”

“Hey, you’re right!” Alex’s eyes widen. “That’s so weird! I hadn’t even realized that's why I thought of that.”

“Oh, yeah! How did I forget Beetlejuice- wait!” Luke stops himself mid sentence as all three of them freeze, waiting for the ancient spirit to suddenly appear like he does in the movie. After a minute of dead silence, Alex breaks into a fit of laughter. In turn, Luke and Reggie are soon to follow, the ridiculousness of what just happened catching up to them.

As they’re catching their breath, Alex speaks again. “God, why are we all still twelve?”

“Dude… we’re seventeen?” Reggie asks, earning a snort from Luke. Alex just shakes his head, leaning to rest his forehead against the side of Luke’s head this time. 

Another moment passes, Reggie shifting to set his head on Luke’s shoulder. This time when Alex speaks, his voice is softer, a bit more serious.

“I’m sorry I made you guys cry…”

“Lexxxx,” Reggie whines, grasping the drummer’s sleeve. “You don’t have to apologize.” Luke nods.

“Reggie’s right,” he confirms. Then, voice quieting, he asks. “...how long ago did that song happen? You haven’t been holding onto all that since we came back, have you?” Alex shakes his head, shifting to pull Luke closer, his chin coming to rest atop the guitarist’s head.

“No, just since the Orpheum. The whole… near-second-death experience... kind of scared me all over again. I thought I was gonna be alone for longer so… I figured I’d get it out of my system, yknow?”

“You could have talked to us about this,” Luke murmurs, but, it’s more worry than it is anything else. Alex sighs.

“I know, it just… I don’t know, it felt stupid to-”

“Hey,” Reggie warns, his gaze catching Alex’s. “Nobody’s feelings are stupid, remember?”

Luke can’t help but grin at this. Reggie had made them all- Bobby included- promise to stop invalidating their feelings (not in as many words, but, it was what he’d meant) after an incident four months prior to the Orpheum the first time. It was after some asshole at a show they played called out a slur at Alex for wearing pink, and Bobby nearly got arrested trying to throttle the guy. Bobby had said something about how he should be in better control and Alex had said that he was being too sensitive and tried to apologize and Reggie lost it. He sat them all down and made them promise they wouldn’t try to make their feelings small anymore.

It was the only time Reggie had gotten angry at them, but, it was important for reasons beyond that.

Alex nods. “Right… sorry. I… didn’t know how to tell you guys I’d been feeling like this. I didn’t want to hurt either of you, but… shit just kept bouncing around in my head and I had to get it out into the world before my brain exploded or something… yknow?”

Luke nods. Reggie does too. And again, a comfortable silence settles over them. Then, Reggie sighs, nuzzling Luke’s shoulder. 

“Why is crying so exhausting?” 

Alex laughs, shifting to lean back against the arm of the couch, giving his bandmates more room to get comfortable. They end up in sort of an unceremonious pile, Luke’s forehead pressed against Alex’s neck, Reggie buried in Luke’s arms. After a moment, Alex’s hand begins combing through Luke’s hair, his own eyes fluttering closed. 

“I love you guys,” he says. Reggie grins, taking Alex’s free hand in his own, too close to sleep to form words. Luke leans up, pressing a kiss to Alex’s cheek.

“Love you too, Lex.”


End file.
